The most precious gift of all

Warwick — Christmas came early to Stephen and Noreen Gratzel of Warwick. Their son, 1st Lt. Justin Gratzel, returned home from Iraq on Tuesday night, flying in to Austin, Texas, after spending 16 months in Iraq. “I just can’t wait to see him,” said Noreen, who hasn’t been with her son since March when he came home for a brief leave. Noreen was packing on Monday night, anticipating her flight to Texas on Tuesday. She and her husband would arrive in Texas hours before their son, whose 22-hour flight from Iraq — by way of Kuwait and Maine — would touch down Tuesday night. Justin Gratzel’s life has taken quite a detour since he graduated from John S. Burke Catholic High School in June 2001. Gratzel was heading to the University of Scranton and its Reserve Officer Training Corps, hoping to go to law school after earning his undergraduate degree. Then Sept. 11, 2001 happened. “I was terrified because I knew a war was going to happen,” said Noreen. “I wondered if we had made a mistake. But when you see the wonderful young man he has become, you realize we didn’t make a mistake.” Noreen said her son has grown in so many ways since graduating from Scranton and joining the Army. “The leadership qualities alone — he wouldn’t get them in any kind of job,” she said. “I always felt learning how to lead would let him see what he’s capable of doing with his life. Being an officer really shows them that.” Still, Noreen is a mom. Along with Justin, 24, she and Stephen have a daughter, Kristen, who is a student at University of Connecticut, studying to be a dentist. She is in constant contact with Justin via e-mail and weekly phone calls. For the first six months he was stationed in Taji, an Army base 20 miles north of Baghdad. Then he moved to Baghdad for the next six months; then back to Taji for his final four months. He is part of the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, which refuels and resupplies Apache helicopters. Sometimes Noreen can’t watch the news; sometimes she can’t stop watching the news. “It’s horribly stressful,” she said. “People have no idea what it does to the entire family to have someone in Iraq.” Sometimes Noreen will spend hours on the Internet reading Iraqi newspapers. She checks the weather. When she reads something she doesn’t like, she has to back away. One of Justin’s former schoolmates at Scranton was badly hurt in Iraq. The inevitable thoughts enter Noreen’s mind: “It could have been my kid.” Justin now has different dreams for his future. Instead of law school, he is looking at going back to school for his master’s degree in diplomacy to work for the State Department. “I’ll be honest,” said Noreen. “I sometimes wish he would just come home and go to law school. But I know it’s not what he wants anymore. And I want whatever he wants.” The Gratzels will spend a week with Justin in Texas, then they will come back to Warwick. Justin will follow on Dec. 26, staying with his family in Warwick for two precious weeks before heading back to Fort Hood for the next year. He is working toward his captain’s promotion, so he will most likely stay in the Army beyond his expected September 2009 discharge date. And his mom supports him in that. She just hopes he doesn’t have to return to Iraq. For now, she is not looking that far ahead. Today she and Stephen are spending time with their son on U.S. soil. And they are looking forward to spending two weeks — including the start of 2008 — with their entire family, including Justin. “I am just so happy to actually see him again,” said Noreen. “I can’t wait to see him walk off that plane.”